Cain, from the Bible, is the person who brought the evil of fratricide into the world. He opened the gates for two very evil characters in Grendel of Grendel and King Claudius of Hamlet. Throughout their respective epic poem and play, these characters portray the utmost evil within our society. "Claudius is thus not only Cain but Adam. Claudius's sin has, for Hamlet at least, turned Denmark into a fallen Eden; thorns and thistles dominate the landscape." King Claudius' evil is shown through the play but it is especially shown in the murder of the late King Hamlet of Denmark. King Hamlet is a very respected figure in the country of Denmark; Claudius' choice to kill Hamlet not only results in death for Claudius, it also results in the end of Denmark's reign of power. Grendel, born into a life of social troubles, has many problems dealing with his identity and appearance. To gain attention, he goes on a killing rampage and kills numerous innocent people along the way. His motive for this is to gain attention from the people who used to never pay attention to him; his motive also has to deal with his insecurity concerning his looks. Insecurity is a big topic in these two characters. Both acted upon decisions based on a lack of attention they were receiving before they chose to commit murderous actions. Grendel and Claudius chose to play God by committing murder, it is no one's right to play God; therefore the two character's decisions are morally wrong and socially wrong, making them two evil criminals.
             One decision made by society that impaired Grendel's social acceptatance from the beginning was that of alienating him. Alienation means an estrangement; a diversion to another purpose, mental derangement. In other words, to alienate someone means to seclude or isolate someone from a society. This term fits Grendel perfectly. Throughout the epic novel, Grendel is perceived as a vicious monster...